I am on the back side of repairing a leaking fuel tank. The tank is now fixed and back in the boat with everything reattached. Today I tried to start the stock mercruiser 260 but never got the fuel siphoned from the tank to the carb. The engine would run fine if you dropped a little gas into the carb but obviously it would not stay running. Can someone please help me with a quicker way to get the fuel to the engine with out draining the battery?
Thanks!

fuelpump????

I don't have a fuel pump. Is a fuel pump recommended? If so which fuel pump is recommended?

i apologize, I do have the mechanical fuel pump. I thought that an electric fuel pump was in question.

Mechanical pump is a mechanical siphon.

As Phragle said,maybe pump is dead, or you have a air leak with line or water seperator, or your antiphon valve is stuck closed.

Is your seperator filled with fuel ? If not, fill it, put back on and then try again and report back. Oh, while there - double checkall fuel line fittings to make sure tight.

Especially the stuff you just redid, and the hard lines near where you worked on them. People have a tendency to think "I just fixed that...hasta be something else." Plus you can crack a weak old fuel line that was on the way out. Personally I crack open a beer and play linda lovelace on the fuel line. Never actually letting fuel vapors into my lungs. I was just in this boat-literally-this weekend firing up the hatteras. Well made boat, but the 48 year old fuel lines are toast...

The boat I purchased had sat for two years, and the anti-drain back valve was stuck closed (mechanical would not draw from tank). Engine would run just fine on starting fluid, but would not keep itself running. THe mechanical fuel pump could just not get primed. I used a hand vacuum pump (mighty vac) hooked up to the fuel line at the carb to get fuel up to the carb from the tank through the mechanical fuel pump. Its been great ever since.